Using science better to reduce the risk of disasters
editAhead of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, we launch our report on building global resilience through scientific innovation following our recent conference. This is part of our ongoing contribution to discussions on disaster risk reduction and ensuring communities are more resilient.
Building global resilience to natural disasters: translating science into action
28-30 January 2013 (WP1197)
As the Global Platform gathers for its Fourth Session in Geneva, we are pleased to release the report from our recent conference on Building global resilience to natural disasters: translating science into action.
The report highlights how significant advances in sciences and technology have made the prediction of natural disasters more accurate. Combined with innovations in the deployment of communications technology (especially social media and mobile phones), such advances offer hope that the human cost of natural disasters may be reduced in the future.
The meeting also underlined the importance of bringing together experts from a diverse set of backgrounds (including scientists, disaster managers, humanitarians, and NGO staff) in order to achieve high impact.
This cross disciplinary method is an approach shared by the biennial Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and contributes to the discussion about the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) working towards reducing risk and making communities more resilient.
Reducing the risks posed by natural disasters represents our ongoing portfolio of work. Our meeting on reducing disaster risk in Asia, held in Bangkok with the Asia Disaster Preparedness Centre, and supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted the need for governments in the region to reinforce building planning regulations in order to make communities more resilient to natural disasters. It also highlighted the need for governments and NGOs to work together to reduce the risks posed by urbanisation.
In 2009, we held a meeting on the risks posed by flooding and the need to plan adequately for such events in order to reduce risk.
Further information
Conference on Building global resilience to natural disasters: translating science into action
Conference on Disaster risk reduction in Asia: identifying and maximising opportunities for action
Conference on Responding to flooding – improving the preparation and response
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